Ohio Jewish chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1980-01-17

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VOL.59   NO.3
JANUARY 17,1980-TEVET28
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ft:
JDC Report States
Not More Than 100
Jews In Afghanistan
NEW YORK (JTA)-It is
said that there may have
once been as many as 40,000
Jews living in Afghanistan.
However, according to a re- _ ■
port prepared by the American Joint Distribution' Committee, there are today but a
few families—no more than
100 people—and their whereabouts in the current situation are unknown. Most of
the people lived in Kabul,
some in Herat and there are ■
reports of one remaining
family in Balkh.
Some date the origins of
the Jews of Afghanistan to
the days of the First Temple
and though that may be difficult to document, there is
ample evidence of later migrations into Afghanistan
from, southern Russia and
from Persia. In the late
1870s, thousands of Jews
went from Herat to Persia to
avoid a punitive war tax—
butas late as 1927 it was still
possible to count 60 distinct
Jewish communities.
_ „ In .1933; • following—the~J
assassination of Nadir Shah,
the Jews were-driven'from
the countryside and concen:
tratedin the municipal centers for safety.
Another significant exodus
from Afghanistan, took place'
in 1944, a time of famine, and
thousands more went, into
India—eventually going on
'to Palestine.
The establishment of the
State of -Israel, brought a
messianic fervor to the Jews
of Afghanistan and an intense desire for aliya, though
the government refused to
allow them to leave.-As late
as 1950, when the Jewish
population was estimated as
being between 3,000 to 8,000,
Jews paid an infidel tax and
had to report for military
service though they were
not allowed to bear arms.
Despite the prohibition on
immigration the Jews did
find their way out—family
by family. Most came to
Israel, some to .the United
States.
A JDC report received in
1971 described the situation
at that time as follows: "The
Jewish community is rapidly
shrinking, though there is no
. overt threat. In Kabul there
: are 25 to 27 families and
.about 25 in Herat ... One
major area of difficulty is
education. When the Jewish
youngster reaches about
eighth grade he frequently
receives pressure from students and teachers to bring
' about conversion, therefore.,
few finish high school and
there are none in Kabul University."
Begin-Sadat Summit Meeting Ends
With Autonomy Issue Unresolved
American Technion Society Dinner
Mr. and Mi's. Samuel Melton of Columbus and Boca Raton,
Fla., visited with Worthington-resident Saul Seigel, now
Executive Vice President of the American Technion Society,
at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach, site of the Society's.
, annual Southern Region Dinner.
With them is David Brinkley, NBC news commentator,
who spoke at the event. Seigel was formerly Director of
Development al the Ohio State University.
ASWAN (JTA)-Premier
Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat wound up
their three-day summit
meeting here with a joint
press conference last Friday, .at which both leaders
acknowledged they' had
failed lo reach agreement
on the issue of autonomy
and how it might relate lo
Jerusalem, They reaffirmed, however,' that the
normalization of relations
between Israel and Egypt
will proceed according to the
lime-table laid down by.their
peace treaty.
Begin told reporters that
ppstal and telephonic communications as"well as civilian land, sea and air links
would be opened between the
Zacks, Mellman Elected To National Board
Local leaders Gordon
Zacks and Myer W. Mellman
were elected - to serve as
representatives from Columbus on the 1980 United Israel
Appear (UIA-J-Boardtrf-Trus-
tees. Their eleqtion took
place at the annual meeting
of the UIA Board of Trustees
held  in  mid-December
in
..Ax-'i-H
One of the founders and
the principal beneficiary of
the United Jewish Appeal,
UIA has been channeling
assistance to the people of Is-
'-raeMrom' -American--Jewry-
since 1925.
Protecting the fiscal integrity, of philanthropic funds
through effective -allocation
i and careful monitoring, UIA
lhas provided more than $2.5
billion since 1967 for housing, -
immigration, absorption,
rural settlements, education, youth care, and other
social needs.
UIA's continued involvement in building and preserving the* Jewish homeland through the programs
of the Jewish Agency for Israel, its sole operating
agent, has enabled Israel to
absorb over one and a half
Gordon Zacks
million immigrants.
During fiscal 1979, UIA received a total of $225,269,000
from UJA. The Jewish
Agency budget for 1979-80 is
$405 million; UIA will provide $272.5 million (67
percent) of that sum.
Myer W. Mellman
New York City at the Hilton
Hotel.
Mellman, President of the
Columbus Jewish Federation, was elected as a new
trustee and Zacks, who is active both on the local and national Jewish scene, was reelected to the Board.
They will be working with
the following slate of officers: Jerold C. Hoffberger of
Baltimore, Chairman;. Mel-
vin Dubinsky of St. Louis and'
Max M. Fisher of Detroit,
Honorary Chairman; Charlotte Jacobson of New York
and Frank R. Lautenberg of
Metropolitan New Jersey,
Vice Chairman; Jack D.
Weiler of New York and Paul ■
Zuckerman of Detroit, Co-
Treasurers; Morris" L-
Levinson" of New ftYork,
Secretary; Irving Kessler of
Hartford, Executive Vice
Chairmanjand Harold Goldberg of New York, Controller/Assistant Secretary.
Dayan Says Mideast Situation
Serious, Potentially Dangerous
by Barbie Zelizer
JERUSALEM (JTA)-
Former Foreign Minister
Moshe.Dayan said last week
that the. Mideast situation is
more serious and potentially
dangerous than that depicted in the press-. Dayan
spoke on the Israel television
program "Moked."
Citing the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan and the turbulence in Iran as examples
of the volatile Moslem world,
Dayan noted that the situa-
' tion is much more serious
than one thinks. But, he
added, he does not believe it
will bring about a clash between the superpowers.
In that light, Dayan said
"It is 'very very important
for Israel to defuse its con-"
flict with the Moslem world
and making progress on the
autonomy question would be
one way' of doing that."
There' 'are a number of local
problems," including autonomy, "whose quick solution
would remove us from the
circle of those' in conflict
Twith the Moslem world," he
said.
. The former Foreign Minister dismissed the View that
the U.Si snubbed Israel by
not informing Jerusalem.of
the decision to use air bases
jn Egypt. "The Americans
can still be our friends without telling us they have an
air. base at Kina," he observed."
, In Dayan's view, the U.S.
' prefers to use bases in Egypt
(CONTINUEDON PAGE 10)
two countries on Jap 26.
followed by the exchange oi
Ambassadors on Feb. 26.
Sadal reiterated that he intended lo implement
normalization in accordance
with the letter and the spirit
of llnrpeace treaty. But he
expressed disappoinlmenl
over the impasse on autonomy for the West Bank arid
Gaza Strip. "I would have
hoped to make progress on
ihe autonomy issue." he
said. He added, "we still
have time," indicating that
more summit meetings will
be needed. The peace treaty
calls for the autonomy negotiations lo be completed by
May 26.
Begin told Ihe press conference that he would consider Sadat's proposal to
implement autonomy first in
the Gaza Strip where Ihe inhabitants are believed lo be
more amenable than on the
Wesl Bank. Egypt believes it
still exerts some influence in
that territory which it ruled,
until 1967. Begin said he
would submit the suggestion
to his -Cabinet lor consideration.
However, he was adamant
in his rejection ol Sadat's
proposal thai East Jerusalem be included in the
autonomy plan, allowing its
Arab residents to vole in the,
elections lor the sell-
governing administrative
. council on ihe Wesl Bank.
"I again told President
Sadal thai Jerusalem is Ihe
eternal capital ol Israel and
is indivisible," Begin told re
porters on his return to
Israel.
Philip Klutznick Sworn In
As Secretary of Commerce
By Truile B. Felilmuii
White House Correspondent
"I'm grateful that Phil
Klutznick would accept'my
request to serve as the Secretary of Commerce. It is a
.sacrifice on his pari, but it is
a sacrifice typical of him and
a sacrilice from which every
American will benefit."
With this' declaration.
President Carter called on
Judge Abner Mikva to administer the oath of office to
Philip Klutznick in the East
Room of the'White House on
Jan. 9. ^
Klutznick, 72, who- has
served under six presidents,
told his assembled family
and other guests at the
Swearing-in Ceremony that
he has recently been "living
through two critical situations" under the President's
leadership.
"Some of us have had a
lack of repose the last few
days," he said. "The de-,
cisions thai have been made
under President Carter's
leadership are painful and
excruciating to a man of
peace and yet he has elected
to use every arm of peace in
what is one ol the greatest
challenges to our country
since World War II. The
lirmness of his position, his
selection of the options, will
make my children and
grandchildren—who are
here today-proud ol the
pages of history that will accord what he is entitled to.
the accolade ol leadership
that is not bellicose, that is
firm.' that understands its
way. and that seeks to preserve the important but fragile fabric of peace in the
world."
Klutznick added that he
hopes those in the
Department of Commerce
will be able to ••demonstrate
ability in.' the treacherous
economic waters through
which we pass with the same
sense of devotion lo duty, the
same commitment 1 to
achievement, the same quiet
determination that will bring
lo reality Carter's enunciated doctrine that government and the private sector
owe il to each other to work
jn commonality and to the
best of our respective abil-
iCONTINUEDON PAGE H<
President Carter looks on ais U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Judge Abner Mjkva administers the oath of otfice to Philip
M. Klutznick as Secretary of Commerce Jan. 9 in theEast
Room of The White House.